Tag Archives: m/m romance

The Druid Next Door

Book Review of The Druid Next Door (Fae Out of Water #2), by E.J. Russell

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I received a copy of E. J. Russell‘s The Druid Next Door through Netgalley. I read and reviewed the first book in the series, Cutie and the Beast, last month.

Description from Goodreads:
Professor Bryce MacLeod has devoted his entire life to environmentalism. But how effective can he be in saving the planet when he can’t even get his surly neighbor to separate his recycling? 

Former Queen’s Enforcer Mal Kendrick doesn’t think his life could get any worse: he’s been exiled from Faerie with a cursed and useless right hand. When he’s not dodging random fae assassins in the Outer World, he’s going toe-to-toe with his tree-hugging neighbor. And when he discovers that the tree hugger is really a druid, he’s certain the gods have it in for him—after all, there’s always a catch with druids. Then he’s magically shackled to the man and expected to instruct him in Supernatural 101. 

All right, now things couldn’t possibly get worse. 

Until a mysterious stranger offers a drunken Mal the chance to gain back all he’s lost—for a price. After Mal accepts, he discovers the real catch: an ancient secret that will change his and Bryce’s life forever. 

Ah, what the hells. Odds are they won’t survive the week anyway. 

Review:
This was cute in much the same way as book one of the series, but this one I had a hard time liking. In fact, I didn’t. There is a real dominance and submission theme in it that I never got comfortable with. I considered it coerced. Period. Russell tried to dress it up as something else, but I couldn’t get comfortable with the power dynamic. I considered it essentially slavery and was basically disgusted with it. I totally see that Russell was going for something else, but I never got there. Plus, it required about a 180 degree shift in one character’s personality that I didn’t at all feel believable and the second character I didn’t feel I got to know well enough to judge, but it didn’t feel right for him either. So, fail for me.

Outside of that issue, there is no romance (just coerced lust, IMO). The quest/mystery was amusing and I enjoyed that aspect of the book. But it was the smaller portion, to be sure. The writing and editing were fine, as far as I was concerned. I’m sure others will like it. I just couldn’t.

Illegal Contact

Book Review of Illegal Contact (The Barons #1), by Santino Hassell

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I received a copy of Illegal Contact, by Santino Hassell, through Netgalley.

Description from Goodreads:
New York Barons tight end Gavin Brawley is suspended from the team and on house arrest after a video of him brawling goes viral. Gavin already has a reputation as a jerk with a temper on and off the field—which doesn’t help him once he finds himself on the wrong side of the law. And while he’s been successful professionally, he’s never been lucky when it comes to love.

Noah Monroe is a recent college grad looking for a job—any job—to pay off his mounting student debt. Working as Gavin’s personal assistant/babysitter seems like easy money. But Noah isn’t prepared for the electrifying tension between him and the football player. He’s not sure if he’d rather argue with Gavin or tackle him to the floor. But both men know the score, and neither is sure what will happen once Gavin’s timeout is over…

Review:
Gah, how to express my feelings about this book? If this was the first Hassell book I’d ever read I’d probably call it a 4 or 5 star book. Honestly, I think it’s the best thing he’s written since Sutphin Boulevard. But it’s the twelfth book by him I’ve read, many in the last year or two, and I’m afraid I’m burning out. Because as grumpy-cute as Gavin was and mouthy-cute as Noah was, they sound and act exactly like too many of Hassell’s other characters. It doesn’t matter if we’re talking football platers, school teachers, dock workers, band members, psychics or assassins a person just plain loses interest if they’re basically given the same character in different settings, and that’s how I’m feeling about Hassell’s books lately.

And I know a lot of authors write to a formula. It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it makes it hard for a dedicated fan to maintain their excitement. Thus, here I am. Hassell is an auto-buy (or request) for me, but lately the books sit on my Kindle far longer than they should before I work up the gumption to read them. Because I know exactly what I’ll get, the good and the bad.

So, if you like Hassell’s past characters and you’re someone who doesn’t believe there can every really be too much of a good thing, buy this book. The writing is good, as always. The characters are cute. The sex is hot, a little kinky but it’s not a kinky book. It stands alone; all good things. Just be prepared to confuse Gavin with most of Hassell’s other alpha-grumps and Noah with other his mouthy betas.

Book Review of My Fairy Godmother Is a Drag Queen, by David Clawson

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I won a copy of David Clawson‘s My Fairy Godmother is a Drag Queen through Goodreads.

Chris Bellows is just trying to get through high school and survive being the only stepchild in the social-climbing Fontaine family, whose recently diminished fortune hasn’t dimmed their desire to mingle with Upper East Side society. Chris sometimes feels more like a maid than part of the family. But when Chris’s stepsister Kimberly begins dating golden boy J. J. Kennerly, heir to a political dynasty, everything changes. Because Chris and J. J. fall in love . . . with each other.

With the help of a new friend, Coco Chanel Jones, Chris learns to be comfortable in his own skin, let himself fall in love and be loved, and discovers that maybe he was wrong about his step-family all along. All it takes is one fairy godmother dressed as Diana Ross to change the course of his life.

My Fairy Godmother is a Drag Queen is a Cinderella retelling for the modern reader. The novel expertly balances issues like sexuality, family and financial troubles, and self-discovery with more lighthearted moments like how one rogue shoe can launch a secret, whirlwind romance and a chance meeting with a drag queen can spark magic and light in a once dark reality.

I

This was cute and funny, but there were several moments that made me think, “As not a member of X minority group, is it ok to laugh at this?” A feeling that might not have been so strong if all the characterizations hadn’t been quite so stereotypical. To be fair the title and purposeful riffing of Cinderella do give a clue that it is that sort of book, one that is playing with pre-existing ideas. But I don’t think it was quite deep enough to be considered a deconstruction, exploration or even parody of those same ideas. I also had trouble with some of the language around gender, women, LGBTQI+, Drag and more.

Those who can’t tolerate cheating in a book, especially cheating with a woman in their M/M, this is not the book for you. The whole thing is two gay men and their beard. I appreciate the way Clawson presented a gay man circumstantially unable to come out and that he never let Chris demand that J.J. do just that to prove his love. But as is almost always the case in such stories, I don’t think the emotional damage possible to the woman a gay couple hid behind was considered at all.

Writing is clear and easy to read, though repetitive at times, and it’s well edited. Basically it’s one of those books that I liked but found problematic.